North America Innovative Lawyers Report 2019

The Financial Times recognized Kirkland & Ellis in five categories in its 2019 North America Innovative Lawyers Report. The FT reviewed more than 350 submissions from nearly 200 law firms, legal service providers and in-house legal teams to compile its rankings report and awards for North America-based lawyers.

Kirkland was listed among the “Most Innovative Law Firms: Overall” in North America, as well as among the “Most Innovative Law Firms” in both Legal Expertise and the Business of Law.

Additionally, Kirkland was named both a “standout” and “highly commended” firm in the “Managing Complexity & Scale” category. The former designation was with regard to the Firm’s representation of GLP in the $18.7 billion sale of its U.S. logistics business to Blackstone. The latter designation was with regard to Kirkland’s representation of and activist defense for Bristol-Myers Squibb, which closed its acquisition of Celgene in November 2019.

The FT also recognized Kirkland in the “New Products & Services” category with a “commended” rating. The FT noted the Firm’s success in implementing risk models and dashboards to help “clients assess and manage cross-border litigation risk.” Those risk models and dashboards also earned Kirkland a “commended” rating in the “Technology & Data” category for helping clients “assess anti-money laundering and workplace compliance risks.”

Additionally, Kirkland was named a “highly commended” firm in the “Rule of Law & Access to Justice” category for its efforts in “representing a class of unaccompanied immigrant teenagers who were put into detention facilities by ICE when they turned 18.”